"You Ain't Gotta Hate To Kick It..."

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly 

HIS PERSPECTIVE: A few weeks back I happened across an article on Complex Music titled: Why Did Everyone Claim To Enjoy Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly"? The title alone gave me cause to pause, but I'm one to read shit thoroughly before choppin' it the fuck down. Having read through it (thoroughly) for a third time, hand me my fuckin' ax.

Let's start out by answering this question asked by Staff Writer, Justin Charity. "Why, in 2015, would a recently platinum-selling rapper make a jazz album with Lalah Hathaway, Ron Isley, and George Clinton?" 

Why in the hell not? Lalah lends a sample of a song to the track "Momma," a mellow, electric coming of age tribute to lessons learned along the way. Ron Isley kills his last second appearance on the darkly melodic, beautifully serious, "How Much A Dollar Cost". And George Clinton takes you back to the late 70's with his funk-sultry voice, not to mention a cameo by Thundercat killing it with his heart-stopping Bass playing in, "Wesley's Theory". If you like Sa-Ra, this is the joint for you. Kendrick Lamar's addition of each one of these artists and tracks allows for the chance for the unexposed to be heard in a new light. My answer to Justin's question is - Brotha I hope that question is of the rhetorical nature.


HER PERSPECTIVE: At first glance, I was mentally prepared to light this review on fire as a result of the sweeping generalizations made throughout the article. Then I went through the article again, this time with a fine tooth comb, and started to feel some relief once I realized that Justin Charity's musical palette just isn't advanced enough to grasp what's beyond his limited ear. To Pimp A Butterfly is clearly not a jazz album...it's a hip hop album with powerful jazz influences. There's a difference. Just because the motivation behind the sound escapes you Justin, doesn't mean you have to minimize an entire body of work. Furthermore, you shit on the essence of the record and then call it an undeniably important album in the same sentence. You're all over the place.


HIS PERSPECTIVE: I totally get that Mr. Charity wasn't trashing this album, but the title of the article and some of the questions asked, be they rhetorical or not, just come across as arrogant and petty, at least to me. Who in the hell is foolish enough to speak for an entire group of people without being appointed a spokesperson for that crew? Some may call it bold or even ballsy, I call it self aggrandizing drivel. Oh and by the way, Mortal Man, to me is reflection of someone that is in their head as much as I am so not only do I embrace it, I get it. Listen closely and maybe it will do something for you too. If you don't, remember that preference is often times personal. There's no way that I can tell you what to think of this artist's work. It's cool to have an opinion as long as you speak for yourself. You ain't gotta hate to kick it my brotha.


HER PERSPECTIVE: To say that the album buckles without "King Kunta" and "Alright" is some disrespectful shit. So you mean to say that the 14 other songs on the album hold little to no weight? Fuck outta here. You definitely ain't gotta hate to kick it, my n***a.